1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to foodstuffs in general, and, in particular, to a natural cheese analog resembling natural cheese in body, texture and flavor and to the method of producing such a natural cheese analog.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Natural cheese is conventionally manufactured from whole milk, skim milk, nonfat dry milk, cream or combinations thereof. The initial milk product is first inoculated with a lactic acid producing bacteria culture. A coagulum is then formed in the acidified milk product by adding thereto a milk coagulating enzyme. The resultant custard-like coagulum or curd is cut into numerous particles and heated to facilitate the separation of whey from the curd. The whey is then removed from the curd, often by simple drainage, and the curd is salted and pressed into forms to produce a solid block of cheese. The cheese is kept in temperature controlled rooms to cure until the desired texture and flavor develops. The whey by-product of the cheesemaking process is often considered a waste product and is available in excess in all cheesemaking regions. Waste disposal of whey is often a pollution problem and recovery of the large amount of nutrients contained in the whey is often neglected.
The prior art contains many examples of foodstuffs utilizing therein materials derived from waste cheese whey. Some of these processes involve precipitation of the remaining solids from the whey while others use the liquid whey combined with other nutritive ingredients. Examples of such foodstuffs and the methods of manufacturing them are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,421,897; 3,466,176; 3,704,136; 3,780,182; 3,818,109; 3,922,375; 3,943,264; 3,956,520; and 4,036,999.
Another product manufactured from milk is casein. Casein is normally produced through the acidification of the fat-free portion of a milk product until a curd forms. This curd may be formed through the use of mineral, i.e., hydrochloric or sulphuric acids or through the use of lactic acid generated in a milk culture by microorganisms. The casein curd is repeatedly washed to remove remaining lactose and salts. The washed curd is passed through a press to remove some of the water, and then to hot air dryers where the water content is reduced to approximately ten percent after which the dried curd is reduced to desired size by grinding. Casein is thus commercially available as a dry powdered or granular product consisting either of dry casein alone or as casein combined with an alkaline earth, such as calcium, to produce a caseinate compound, like calcium caseinate. Inasmuch as dry casein, containing most of the protein constituents in whole milk, is normally available in this powdered or granular form, it can be easily and economically stored and shipped. In addition, dry casein is normally commercially available throughout the world at a lower price per-pound-protein than whole milk. Because of this cost advantage numerous processes have been developed to fabricate cheese-like products or cheese extenders from casein materials. However, these cheese-like products or extenders do not closely resemble natural cheese and are readily distinguishable from natural cheese. These products also do not possess the ability to coagulate to form cheese-like curd. Examples of such processes are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,397,994; 3,397,995; 3,720,520; 3,886,300; 3,917,854; 3,922,374; 3,941,891 and 4,016,298.
It has also been proposed in at least one instance to use whey as a carrier for fats with the whey then being combined with a nonfat portion of milk and the resultant combination being used as the feed substance in a cheesemaking procedure. Such a process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,605. The purpose of such a process is apparently to substitute a selected fat for the milk fat normally found in whole milk. The problem with such a process is that liquid skim milk or other liquid milk fraction must be used in the process thereby losing the cost advantage possible by using a dry powdered casein material. Other processes for substituting emulsified fats in milk solutions for use in making cheese are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,716,377 and 3,889,004.